AIBU to want Cameron to spend a week painting pollen into apple blossoms??

I'm really worried about bees and pesticides; there are so few bees in my garden in summer compared with numbers a few years ago, and I have several beekeeping friends who have lost whole colonies.

Meanwhile the government are BLOCKING EU moves to ban the neonicotinoid pesticides that several trials have shown are a likely culprit. The EU move was a temporary ban pending further trials, but our dear guvverment evidently believes in fairies, perhaps as alternative pollinators, because without bees up to one-third of crops will fail, though their friends at Monsanto will walk away with Big Bucks. Furious, in fact.

If you don't think I am BU to hand Cameron a paintbrush and tell him to get on with it, some petitions you can sign are

Link to Fera's report. As you can see it was produced by Fera, for Syngenta (big pharma).

I do not know how good/accurate this research is, but surely it would have more credence if it were completely independent? And yes, not being totally naieve, I know the big pharmas will argue that they are best placed to commission research on products they are developing (and that they want to know side-effects in case of future compensation claims).

What has really angered me about the news articles on this, is that not one mainstream article seems to have mentioned that DEFRAs study was not (what I would call) independent. From what I have read elsewhere, I believe it was paid for by the people who make the neonicitinoid pesticides.

From (what I would call) independent research conducted elsewhere in the EU it appears that these pesticides do have a marked and measurable affect on the nervous systems of bees. As such, they are dangerous and we should follow others in the EU in banning them.

I wouldn't be half so livid, if those writing the news articles had bothered to actually do some research (looking at you, BBC) - and if our 'authorities' were honest and transparent enough to make it clear that the study was paid for by pesticide giants.

Just to add, I said ought to be a sticky as I don't believe the general public are even aware of this, I wasn't until I clicked on this thread and I do keep myself fairly up to date with what's going on.

I now have a vague feeling that my son said something to me about this a while back, but I dismissed it as aspie witterings!

I think people have absolutely no idea how serious this is, how much of our food on this planet is pollinated by bees. This is a priority.

I'm planting as much in my garden I can that will provide food for them; clover in my lawn, foxgloves, cornflowers, poppies, phacelia and nasturtiums. If anyone has the tiniest bit of garden (or a window box) please also consider planting some of the above, the more food we can provide for them the better.

We (local bee group) have been opening hives these last few week, (south hams escaped the bad weather this year)

out of 42 hives ,all well fed and care for, there are two with live bees in them. other groups are reporting similar failure numbers.

my cherry trees which should be buzzing with bees as they are in full blossom, normally my favourite place to sit and read at this time as the canopy sounds like a grand prix, with bumbles and honey bees fighting for space, is more or less empty.

please share these petitions with everyone you know, there are serious problems, that cannot be put off solving.